Quote of the Day: 31 January 2018

“There is a fine line between bravery and the Emergency Room.” -Miguel Gonzalez

[Sometimes this is true. Other times, there is a range over which the probability of one or the other is normally distributed. Good luck determining the difference, and in beating (or not) the odds.]

Quote of the Day: 30 January 2018

“There is more than one way to burn a book. And the world is full of people running about with lit matches.” -Ray Bradbury

[To go along with last week's quote from an internet commenter, we have a more faithful rendering of the meaning of Fahrenheit 451 from the author.]

Quote of the Day: 29 January 2018

“Problem statements drive the solution. Incorrect and unarticulated problem statements limit the range of solutions.” -Joe Huffman

[A well crafted problem statement will help guide you to a solution, but a malformed one will drive you away from optimal, or potentially better solutions.]

Quote of the Day: 28 January 2018

“The atoning power of Jesus Christ is essential because none of us can return to our heavenly home without help. In mortality, we invariably make mistakes and violate God’s laws. We become stained by sin and cannot be allowed back to live in God’s presence. We need the Savior’s atoning power so that we can be reconciled to Heavenly Father.” -Dale G. Renlund

Quote of the Day: 27 January 2018

“There can be no proper observance of a birthday which forgets the mother.” -Calvin Coolidge

Quote of the Day: 26 January 2018

“My weekend to-do list is just a bunch of things that I want to eat.” -Abby Heugel

[And since I've seen this, mine is too.]

Quote of the Day: 25 January 2018

“[Y]ou’re never going to solve the problem while you pretend it isn’t there.” -Dave Freer

[Denial is a big problem throughout society. In our political institutions, as well as those that are supposedly apolitical.]

Forest Grove Police Log excerpt, 24 January 2018

Here is the selection from the log of local police activity for this week.

January 13* A caller reported his car had been stolen overnight. Officers learned the vehicle wasn't stolen. The driver forgot where he parked.

I have had this happen to me before. There was a place I was accustomed to parking my vehicle, but one day there was no parking in that location, and I parked elsewhere. Upon returning I found my car was not where I believed I had left it, and called my father asking for help because I wasn't sure what to do next. A few minutes later I had located my car. Thankfully, I had not called to police to report my vehicle stolen, but I can certainly understand the emotional state about this.

Previous police log excerpt found at that link.

Quote of the Day: 24 January 2018

“Once you allow corruption to become so entrenched in society - _any_ society - it's almost impossible to uproot it.” -Peter Grant

[Sadly, it is not so hard to uproot integrity from a society.]

Quote of the Day: 23 January 2018

“I always thought it was ironic Fahrenheit 451 [sic] is all about how cool it is to burn books.. but it IS a book.” -Grey

[That's one perspective, I guess. It's not what I got from the book. It seemed to me that it was far more about the need to actually consider what is in the book whether you're actually burning it, or just ignoring all books.

H/T: My best friend growing up for pointing out the quote.]

Quote of the Day: 22 January 2018

“[A] time will come when the world will look back on abortion in horror and bewilderment.” -Matt Walsh

[I certainly hope so.]

Quote of the Day: 21 January 2018

“As we all enter a meetinghouse to worship as a group, we should leave behind our differences, including race, social status, political preferences, and academic and professional achievements, and instead concentrate on our common spiritual objectives.” -Joni L. Koch

Quote of the Day: 20 January 2018

“‘Don't confuse the simple-minded with jokes’ is not a way to cure stupid.” -@neontaster

[It also makes it less enjoyable for those of us who would get the jokes.]

Quote of the Day: 19 January 2018

“Trying to stop engineers from building anything that looks like a weapon is both futile and an affront to the origin of our profession.” -J. Kb

[My practice of engineering wasn't directly applied to the construction of weaponry, but it was likely instrumental in the development of at least a few through the facilitation of increasingly performant computers.]

Forest Grove Police Log excerpt, 18 January 2018

Here is the selection from the log of local police activity for this week.

January 5* During the night shift, a woman reported that her computer had been compromised by hackers after she visited an astrology website. As police were responding, she called to cancel police assistance, saying she wanted to get some sleep.

I cannot fathom what would cause you to contact police when your computer is "compromised by hackers" unless there is an accompanying attempt at extortion, but to then call and cancel police assistance because you want to get some sleep? What are the peopler around here thinking?

Previous edition of the police log excerpt.

Quote of the Day: 18 January 2018

“Here are the three rules that you need to fulfill as a person before you can start complaining about your life failures being the result of somebody else’s actions. Number one, you need to finish high school. Number two: you need to get married before you have babies. Number three: You need to get a job.” -Ben Shapiro

[But it is so much easier to blame someone else for your failures than it is to take responsibility for what you have done.]

Quote of the Day: 17 January 2018

“[T]he problems we face today are growing more complex and interconnected. There are, in fact, no simple solutions. Everything is part of a larger system, and you have to understand the larger context and how one part affects another.” -Michael Doyle & David Straus

[This is only going to become more true as time goes on. (Assuming we don't have a regression in technology as a result of nuclear war, or some other equally horrendous calamity.)]

Quote of the Day: 16 January 2018

“Gun control laws stop the law abiding. They don't stop criminals and they don't stop those intent on ignoring the law.” -John Richardson

[I do not understand why so few understand this. Those pushing gun control certainly do, but they are focused on the control part, not so much on the gun part.]

Quote of the Day: 15 January 2018

“[T]he best I can hope for is that at the end, the Author will deem me worthy of having been written.” -Sarah Hoyt

[Amen.]

Quote of the Day: 14 January 2018

“I love this great land; I honor the great founding fathers; I’m proud to be an American. I cannot sing ‘America’ without tears coming to my eyes and without chills running up and down my back. When I stand with my hand over my heart and sing our national anthem, I’m so proud I can hardly stand it. When I think of all the noble men who gave their lives for this land, then I feel a sacred resolve well up within me and I know that we must stand fast.” -Vaughn J. Featherstone

[Happy Ratification Day.]

Quote of the Day: 13 January 2018

“[T]ry not to be sucked in the endless gear discussions vortex that is sadly so common on many internet boards. People who spend their time there are usually the ones who don’t shoot very much.” -Alex Buisse

[This can be generalized regardless of the hobby. Getting hung up on gear discussions prevents you from actually engaging in the hobby.]

Quote of the Day: 12 January 2018

“There literally is not enough money in the world to buy every privately-owned gun in the USA[.]” -Oleg Volk

[And yet, delusions of being able to do so will persist.]

More Barbecue

I am enjoying my new tools for barbecue cooking. I had wanted to make beef short ribs (which are the large ribs you get at Texas barbecue places. They're called short ribs not because they are short, but because of the meat primal cut they are taken from.) However, I wasn't able to find any that weren't cut flanken style at any of the local grocery stores. I'll have to establish a relationship with a butcher to be able to get them in the form I want. Instead, I picked up a brisket point.

I trimmed up the fat, and applied a dry brine yesterday as soon as I got it home from the store. Then it just sat in the refrigerator until this morning. That's when I started up the grill, and applied the rub. The rub was a slightly modified version of Big Bad Beef Rub (mostly because I ran out of mustard powder). Once the grill was well on its way to smoking temperature, I got it on the smoke. That was at about 8:30 in the morning.

Throughout the day I watched the temperature of the smoker fluctuate, and I did my best to keep it around 225°, while I also watched the meat temp climb until it hit the stall. Then the meat stayed at about 157° for a few hours. I did see it come out of the stall, but I had to refuel the grill, and at that point the meat started regressing. From that point, I kicked the smoker temperature up to between 250° and 275°. It still took several more hours. I had thought that cooking just a point would reduce the amount of time needed to reach 203° internal. It did not. I have learned my lesson. Brisket point takes as long as a whole brisket because it is the same thickness. It was a good learning experience for me, but it made that part of dinner much later than I thought it would be this morning.

In the end, it came out nicely tender, and with a heavy bark. I didn't wrap it with anything, and that would have kept a few bits from getting too dry, and sped up the cook. But I'm not displeased. My wife liked it. So, I'll get to do it again. I consider that a win.

Quote of the Day: 11 January 2018

“Watching hundreds of hours of old sci-fi has taught me that eventually everyone is attacked by a fake-looking monster.” -Scott Meyer

[I haven't had my time being attacked yet. I'm looking forward to seeing how fake it looks.]

Forest Grove Police log excerpt, 10 January 2018

This week's selection from the log of local police activity.

January 3* Officers contacted a man seen sleeping under the "no loitering" sign at a shopping center he had previously been trespassed from. He was taken into custody.

This is what I call chutzpah. How brazen do you have to be to fall asleep under that sign at a place you've previously been kicked out of? But our local police got things taken care of.

Quote of the Day: 10 January 2018

“Identarian politics are for idiots.” -@ClarkHat

[Of whatever form they take.]

Quote of the Day: 9 January 2018

“In the criminal underworld violence takes the place of most of our legal system.” -Weerd Beard

[So many who are not themselves criminal do not comprehend this. For example, a drug dealer cannot go to the cops for recourse if his stock is pilfered. Instead, he lashes out with violence against the perpetrator.]

Quote of the Day: 8 January 2018

“The only reason to leave the house is to get the pleasure of returning home.” -Josh Weinstein

[Home is such a nice place to be. I don't think I agree with this sentiment entirely, but it is certainly a compelling argument.]

Sunday Dinner

Usually, Sunday dinner around here at Chez Chien Rouge is a roast chicken based on Alton Brown's recipe from EverDayCook. However, today it was instead a baked bacon macaroni and cheese served with halved cherry tomatoes. And it was excellent.

So, if you'd like to make it, here's a description of what I did.

First, I cooked 15 rashers of thick cut applewood smoked bacon. Most of this was destined for the wife's maple bacon cinnamon rolls, but that's another post (if you're lucky.) I cooked this to a very crispy state because it was going to be further cooked inside another dish, and would soften a bit in that process. I reserved the bacon grease for greasing the pan the final dish was baked in, the roux for the béchamel sauce, and toasting the panko bread crumb topping (the wife also got a couple of tablespoons for her rolls. But, again, that's another post.) Four of the rashers were crumbled into bacon bits to be mixed into the final dish.

The dish was somewhat based on Andrew Rea's recipe from Basics with Babish, because I knew it was adaptable, and I knew where to find it quickly. So, the next step was to toast a cup of panko in two tablespoons of reserved bacon grease until toasty brown.

Next a roux of two tablespoons bacon grease with an equal portion of flour and a bit of sea salt came together very quickly, and a béchamel was made with a cup of whole milk. Once this came together, I added four ounces each of Monterey Jack, Sharp Cheddar, and Pecarino Romano cheeses to make a cheese sauce, and then incorporated the bacon bits, and a bit of freshly ground black pepper.

Once I had parboiled the elbow macaroni (two minutes shorter than the directions on the package called for) I combined that with the sauce in a large bowl. This was poured into a large glass baking dish that had been greased with some of the reserved bacon grease. Then that was topped with the toasted panko mixed with another 2 ounces of shredded Pecarino Romano. This was covered with foil, and baked at 450° for 10 minutes, and then another 10 uncovered.

Coming out of the oven, it was bubbling so nicely, and looked fantastic.

This was shared with the wife, The Pup, and my sister who comes over for dinner most Sundays. There were no complaints. In fact, the wife said "We've decided: you have to do this again." I think that counts as a win. Especially when they are usually raving over the chicken, it's gravy, and the mashed potatoes with a vegetable side we usually have.

There are a few changes I would make for the next time though. I would be sure to only lightly grease the baking vessel. I would also increase the amount of milk in the sauce. It was barely present in the final dish.

Anyway, it was good enough, and novel enough that I wanted to document this. Hope you enjoy.

Quote of the Day: 7 January 2018

“Those who save marriages pull out the weeds and water the flowers. They celebrate the small acts of grace that spark tender feelings of charity.” -Dieter Uchtdorf

Quote of the Day: 6 January 2018

“[T]he situation was being ‘workshopped’. This is the means by which people who don’t know anything get together to pool their ignorance.” -Terry Pratchett

Forest Grove Police log excerpt, 5 January 2018

Here is the excerpt from the log of local police activity for the week.

Monday, Dec. 25• Police received a report of a man sitting outside a laundromat screaming and making statements about the devil. Officers contacted the man, who said he was waiting for his mother to get off work and promised to keep the noise level down.

I am glad that I do not have to spend Christmas away from my family. Instead, the people who do help provide the security and peace that I enjoy as an American citizen. I'm also confused about people who would choose to loudly talk about the devil outside a laundromat on Christmas, but whatevs.

Quote of the Day: 5 January 2018

“The main gain of modern man has been the weakening of governments. Unfortunately, that process is now reversed, not only in Europe, but also in America.” -H. L. Mencken

[If he thought this when he wrote it mid 20th century, I wonder what he would think of the current state of affairs here in America.]

Quote of the Day: 4 January 2018

“Ladies and gentlemen, repeat after me ‘a plastic shovel is [worthless].’” -J. Kb

[I find that a plastic snow shovel is adequate for my needs in western Oregon, but I would not count on one to get my car out of a precarious, stuck situation.]

Quote of the Day: 3 January 2018

“Who is really ‘greedy’? The man who wishes to keep a bit more of his own money, or the man who demands to be given a bit more of his neighbor’s money?” -Matt Walsh

[Yesterday, I saw a tweet commented upon by Robb Allen where the person insisted that all money belongs to the state. I couldn't comprehend a worldview like that. It is diametrically opposed to the philosophy of our founding documents here in the U.S.]

Quote of the Day: 2 January 2018

“My plans for decluttering the house are starting to include a 30 foot dumpster and a snow shovel.” -Daddybear71

[Some days ...]

Quote of the Day: 1 January 2018

“Nobody ever died thinking ‘I wish I would have tweeted more.’” -David Burge

[Happy New Year. Something to think about as you settle on your resolutions.]